Literary notes about might (AI summary)
In literature, the word "might" functions as a subtle modal verb that conveys possibility, uncertainty, and conditional outcomes. It allows authors to suggest potential actions or alternate scenarios without making definitive assertions, as seen when a character reflects on a missed opportunity or an uncertain future (e.g. [1], [2]). This versatility lets writers hedge their judgments and introduce nuance in both personal reflections and broader narrative events—from speculating on changes in destiny or circumstances ([3], [4]) to expressing hypothetical virtues or powers ([5], [6], [7]). By infusing dialogue and narrative with "might," authors create a sense of openness and deliberation that enriches the text and deepens the reader’s engagement with complex, often unresolved, possibilities (e.g. [8], [9]).
- Perhaps I might have been better friends with your poor father.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens - "My real purpose was to see you , and to judge, if I could, whether I might ever hope to make you love me.
— from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - He might as well have kicked me, and done with it.
— from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville - —Of these newly found islands and whatever wealth they might be found to contain, Spain claimed the possession by right of discovery.
— from A History of the Philippines by David P. Barrows - A philosopher might select this character as a model of perfect virtue.
— from An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals by David Hume - The ball of quills might have been a stone for all it moved; the lynx might have been frozen to marble; and old One Eye might have been dead.
— from White Fang by Jack London - The Apostle singles out those created beings that from their superior rank had been or might be set in rivalry with the Son.
— from St. Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon by J. B. Lightfoot - Yet I dreaded to witness the anguish which my resolve might excite in Idris.
— from The Last Man by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - I made interest with Mr Blogg the Beadle to have him as a Minder, seeing him by chance up at church, and thinking I might do something with him.
— from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
